Agree about the "pinch of salt". On a different point though, it goes along with what other polling data suggests: the Taliban and AQ are rather disliked in the areas in which they operate. This is a very great vulnerability.
Agree about the "pinch of salt". On a different point though, it goes along with what other polling data suggests: the Taliban and AQ are rather disliked in the areas in which they operate. This is a very great vulnerability.
"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Gen. Nathanael Greene
While absolutely true
Dislike is rather often second string to fear so as long as a certain level of fear remains their dislikes are rather unlikely to get them off the fence. Seems like we've seen this beforeOriginally Posted by carl
Well no doubt the Paks know, question is what or how they decide to deal with it?
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
If fear is the thing holding them back, perhaps increasing local security would be the decisive thing to do. That is easier than changing the minds of the ideologically committed.Dislike is rather often second string to fear so as long as a certain level of fear remains their dislikes are rather unlikely to get them off the fence. Seems like we've seen this before
Well no doubt the Paks know, question is what or how they decide to deal with it?
Judging by recent results, do the Pakistanis have any idea what to do and could they pull it off if they did? The ISI appears to know how to do insurgency, but does the army know counterinsurgency?
I remember once getting a small lecture by a Pakistani captain in a pizza joint in Kisangani, Congo (the Hawaiian, Tom and Stan. it's still there.). I asked why the UN just didn't hunt down and destroy the FDLR and all the various Mai-Mai groups, which were mainly bandits.
He explained to me how they had a superior understanding guerilla warfare and would proceed accordingly. I am skeptical of his assertion.
"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Gen. Nathanael Greene
Rather hard to tell what the "answer" will be
As to what they know, one doesn't partake in creating and maintaining something without obtaining a fairly good understanding of the weaknesses inherent.
That said it's the balance they will have to seek in how to attack it without exposing and or exaggerating the cracks in their own armor. Not an easy thing I'm afraid.
Like the saying goes, it's easy for anyone to see a problem. Finding the solution is completely something else.
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
Carl's questions
Carl,
No and no.
IMHO the government, however weak, appears to know 'what to do' and they could not 'pull it off' for a variey of reasons, a major one being the reluctance of the military 'to do'. The Pakistani army's focus remains India and COIN is not embedded - although a number of countries are trying to help.
davidbfpo
From back in the summer of 2002:
The words of an elderly Pakistani village leader will haunt me for the rest of my life. An element of the Pakistani military had left the relative security of the Indus river valley, and had pushed up into the fiercely independent and pro-Taliban mountain region bordering Afghanistan. A small element of U.S. personnel was accompanying them, and the team leader captured this sage observation from the village elder, “We do not like the government forces coming up into our territory, you understand, for they have no purpose here. You Americans, on the other hand, we do not mind. You are here for revenge, and revenge we understand.”
We have misunderstood the dynamics of the populaces of this region from the outset, and our policies have reflected that misunderstanding.
I see where recent Predator attacks have succeeded in uniting elements of the Taliban that have been at odds with each other for years. Nothing like a common enemy to bring people together.
Robert C. Jones
Intellectus Supra Scientia
(Understanding is more important than Knowledge)
"The modern COIN mindset is when one arrogantly goes to some foreign land and attempts to make those who live there a lesser version of one's self. The FID mindset is when one humbly goes to some foreign land and seeks first to understand, and then to help in some small way for those who live there to be the best version of their own self." Colonel Robert C. Jones, US Army Special Forces (Retired)
Finally in the US MSM
The polling has now appeared in the Washington Post, a week after being here: http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time....campaign=email
davidbfpo
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